Influence of deforestation on biodiversity of aquatic organisms was investigated in a stream in the Ulu Sedili Forest Reserve. The stream was monitored five (5) times from December 2011 until December 2012 with 2-month intervals. Sampling of benthic communities was carried out using rectangular dip net while water quality study using a YSI ProPlus meter and the rest were done in the laboratory. Physicochemical parameters and water quality index (WQI) calculation showed no significant difference among the investigated events. WQI classified the Berasau River between Class II (good) to III (moderate) of river water quality. In total, 603 individuals representing 25 taxa that were recorded with Decapods from genus Macrobrabchium were widely distributed. Several intolerant taxa, especially Ephemeroptera and Odonata, were also observed in this river. According to Pearson's correlation analysis, the richness and diversity indices were generally influenced by water quality parameters represented by WQI (P
The genus Cerithideopsis is most common in mangrove and salt marsh habitats of the New World tropics, but there is also a small radiation in the Indo-West Pacific region. Previously, these Indo-Pacific snails have generally been classified as Cerithidea largillierti (Philippi, 1848). Molecular phylogenetic analysis (partial sequences of mitochondrial COI and 16S rRNA, and nuclear 28S rRNA) of 15 specimens from 8 localities between Japan and Australia reveal three clades, among which there are small morphological differences and which show allopatric distributions. Cerithideopsis largillierti sensu stricto is restricted to Japan and China, while the two other species are described as new: C. australiensis occurs in tropical Australasia and C. malayensis is found from Malaysia to Java and the Philippines. All occur on mud and in pools with leaf litter, in the shaded landward and middle zones of mangrove forests, and do not climb the trees. The species accounts include full synonymies, detailed descriptions of shells based on 82 museum samples, descriptions of living animals, distribution records and maps, and notes on habitat and conservation status.
Photobacterium species are widely distributed in the marine environment. The overall metabolism of this genus remains largely unknown. In order to improve our knowledge on this bacterium, the relationship between the genome and phenome of the Photobacterium isolate was analyzed. The cream colored, Gram-negative, rod-shaped and motile bacterial strain, J15, was isolated from marine water of Tanjung Pelepas, Johor, Malaysia. The 5,684,538 bp genome of strain J15 comprised 3 contigs (2 chromosomes and 1 plasmid) with G + C content of 46.39 % and contained 4924 protein-coding genes including 180 tRNAs and 40 rRNAs. The phenotypic microarray (PM) as analyzed using BIOLOG showed the utilization of; i) 93 of the 190 carbon sources tested, where 61 compounds were used efficiently; ii) 41 of the 95 nitrogen sources tested, where 22 compounds were used efficiently; and iii) 3 of the 94 phosphorous and sulphur sources tested. Furthermore, high tolerance to osmotic stress, basic pH and toxic compounds as well as resistance to antibiotics of strain J15 were determined by BIOLOG PM. The ANI and kSNP analyses revealed that strain J15 to be the same species with Photobacterium marinum AK15 with ANI value of 96.93 % and bootstrapping value of 100 in kSNP. Based on the ANI and kSNP analyses, strain J15 was identified as P. marinum J15.
The worldwide-distributed aquatic fungus Articulospora tetracladia Ingold is a dominant sporulating species in streams of the Northwest Iberian Peninsula. To elucidate the genetic diversity of A. tetracladia, we analyzed isolates collected from various types of plant litter or foam in streams from North and Central Portugal and North Spain, between 2000 and 2010. Genetic diversity of these fungal populations was assessed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprints and by using ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 barcodes. Moreover, ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 barcodes of A. tetracladia reported in other parts of the world (Central Europe, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and Malaysia) were retrieved from the National Center for Biotechnology (NCBI) and the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation Biological Resource Center (NBRC) to probe into genetic diversity of A. tetracladia. PCR-DGGE of ITS2 region of 50 Iberian fungal isolates distinguished eight operational taxonomic units (OTUs), which were similar to those obtained from neighboring trees based on ITS2 gene sequences. On the other hand, ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 barcodes of 68 fungal isolates yielded nine OTUs, but five fungal isolates were not assigned to any of these OTUs. Molecular diversity was highest for OTU-8, which included only European isolates. Two haplotypes were observed within OTU-8 and OTU-9, while only one haplotype was found within each of the remaining OTUs. Malaysia did not share haplotypes with other countries. Overall results indicate that, apart from the Malaysian genotypes, A. tetracladia genotypes were geographically widespread irrespective of sampling time, sites or substrates. Furthermore, PCR-DGGE appeared to be a rapid tool for assessing intraspecific diversity of aquatic hyphomycetes.